


To the Moon and Back

by dragonbug



Series: Dragonbug's Maribat March 2021 [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adult Damian Wayne, Angst, Badass Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Bruce Wayne is Batman, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Damian Wayne Feels, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, Damian Wayne is Bad at Feelings, Damian Wayne is Robin, Dick Grayson Tries to Be a Good Older Sibling, F/M, Fluff, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Identity Reveal, Kinda, MariBat, Maribat March, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Miraculous Side Effects, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Protective Damian Wayne, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, emphasis on idiots, love square, magic use, reverse love square au but maribat, they're just idiots in love who refuse to admit it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 01:48:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30048081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonbug/pseuds/dragonbug
Summary: After Hawkmoth's defeat, Marinette moves to Gotham in order to help heal the city of the negative energy that's been residing there for over a century. Not long after Marinette and Damian's first meeting, Damian starts developing feelings for her. The romantic kind. The only problem: Marinette likes Robin.Maribat March Day 15: New Start
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Series: Dragonbug's Maribat March 2021 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2189937
Comments: 7
Kudos: 75
Collections: Maribat March





	To the Moon and Back

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a bullet point story that I'm now actually writing so if you don't want anything spoiled don't read I'll Be By Your Side. Also, I'll probably add a few things to the plot that were not in the original outline.
> 
> Warnings/Trigger Warnings  
> -cursing  
> -implied rape (in the very beginning, you can skip it by starting to read at the first line break. Nothing happens but there are some comments that can be taken to imply that the speaker wishes to sexually assault/rape someone)

Icy fingers gripped her arms in the darkness, the harsh squeeze sending chills up Marinette’s spine. She hadn’t been paying attention to her surroundings -- she was lost in thought, too focused on the reason that she was in Gotham in the first place to notice the group of drunken men behind her.

“Hey, little girl,” one of them slurred, “Give us your purse and we’ll let you go," he paused and chuckled darkly, "Maybe.” His words were slurred and she could smell the stale scent of alcohol on his breath as the group laughed. Their flushed faces and inability to stand in one place for more than a few moments at a time before stumbling around making it obvious just how drunk they were.

Marinette cursed herself for allowing herself to let her guard down. She knew better, especially given how dangerous of a city Gotham was.

Her hand reached down to clutch her purse tighter to her side, “Not a chance.” She couldn’t give them her bag, even if she wanted to. Tikki was hiding inside and, as Grand Guardian, she couldn’t allow any harm to come to the kwamis (not that her newfound title mattered, she would have given her life for Tikki long before she officially became Guardian).

The man holding her arm yanked her towards him and she stumbled into his chest, “Let me go!”

“Uh-uh-uh, not until you give us what we want. Or else we’ll just have to _take_ it. And it won’t be the only thing we take,” he chuckled darkly, the men behind him joining in.

“You know what? I’ve had enough of this. You’re all disgusting pigs, rot in hell!” with a grunt she flipped the large man over her shoulder and moved to kick another man in the groin, grinning when they let out joint groans of pain.

Suddenly, she was backed into a wall as the others closed in on her, a few pulling knives from their pockets or breaking empty beer bottles on the wall and pointing the jagged glass in her face.

Marinette's eyes hardened, “Leave now, and I won’t wipe the floor of this alleyway with all of your respective asses. This is your one and only warning.”

The men snickered, “Aww, she thinks she can take us. Let’s show her what we can do.”

One of the men stepped forwards, swiping at Marinette with a rusty blade covered in what appeared to be dry blood.

Marinette grinned, “Oh, it’s on.” She moved like a viper, on the lookout but always ready to attack. She took every opportunity she could -- when one of the men turned their backs she would attack.

She lunged for one, yanking his hair back which caused him to fall to the muddy ground. She dropped down to avoid a flying fist (with a rusty knife attached) and used the opportunity to swipe her legs underneath another of the group, causing him to fall to the ground as well. She jumped up, barely avoiding another blade aimed for her arm, and brutally kicked another man in the groin.

She moved like this over and over, causing men to fall left and right, but they weren’t staying down. Their drunken state was numbing the pain she was causing them and they just kept coming back for more.

Marinette felt a tugging in her purse and looked down at Tikki, “I know you don’t want to hurt them but you’re not going to be able to get out of this situation without at least knocking them out. You’ve got this Marinette!”

Marinette knew that her kwami was right. The only way she would be going home that night was if she could knock out the group that was attacking her. She fought harder.

She had taken out a good chunk of them when she heard a soft thud from behind and she whipped around. She could see a figure (or was it two?) helping her fight off the rest of the drunkards. By the time they were all on the ground, Marinette was breathing hard. 

She leaned over, supporting herself with her hands on her knees gasping for air, "Who are you?"

The figure stepped out of the shadows, the blue symbol on his chest becoming clear, "I'm Nightwing. What's your name? And why are you out here all alone?"

Marinette stood up, "I'm Marinette. Nice to meet you. And I was just headed home. I got caught up working on my next project and didn't realize how late it had gotten. I don't own a car or bike and, no offense, I don't really trust the cabs or public transportation here, especially at night, so I had no other choice besides walking home. At some point, this group caught up to me and tried to take my purse. We fought and somehow ended up in this alleyway."

Nightwing nodded and looked like he was about to say something but a voice cut him off from behind Marinette, "Let us take you home then. It'll be much safer than -" He was cut off by a fist to the face and was sent to the ground by the force of the punch.

Marinette gasped and put her hands over her mouth, "Oh my gods I am so sorry. I thought one of them had woken up. Are you okay? Here, let me help you," she quickly squatted next to him and pulled his hands away from his bloody nose and started fussing over him. Nightwing snickered in the corner while the young man tried to push Marinette's hands away.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. I shouldn't have snuck up on you." He was looking at her strangely, not many people could take out a group of people as she had, and not many people could punch with as much force as she had hit him with, "You fight well," he tilted his head, "How?" Nightwing snickered again.

Marinette looked taken aback, "Well, I used to live in Paris. A lot of people who live there started taking self-defense classes or something similar after it became apparent that Hawkmoth was going to be a long-term problem."

She helped him to his feet, "Hawkmoth?"

"Paris's old supervillain. Ladybug and Chat Noir finally defeated him not too long ago."

"Oh." For a moment they stared into each other's eyes. Marinette couldn't see what color they were due to the white coverings but he was entranced by how blue her's were. 

"You never introduced yourself."

He blinked, "Oh. Right. My apologies. I'm Robin."

Marinette smiled, and Robin was thankful for the mask the covered his (totally non-existent) blush, "It's nice to meet you, Robin."

"Ooookay. Robin, why don't you take the lady home and I'll stay behind until the police get here. Sound good?" he asked the last part to Marinette, wanting to check that she was comfortable being alone with Robin (though after all the prolonged eye-contact he just witnessed he doubted her answer would be no).

"Sounds good to me."

Robin stepped towards her and held out his arm, "May I?" Marinette nods and he puts his arm around her waist.

He grins down at her, "Hold on tight." He raises his other arm above his head before grappling away. Marinette lets out a surprised squeak before placing her arms around his neck and pulling herself closer to him. They swing through the city while Marinette points him in the right direction. It's not long before they arrive outside her apartment building. 

She turns to look up at him, eyes sparkling, "Thank you, Robin." Her voice is soft, afraid that if she speaks too loudly it will break the serenity of the night and the peacefulness that's washed over the pair.

"Of course," he hesitates for a moment, glancing around the empty city streets before looking back down at the girl, "Stay safe, Marinette."

"I'll do my best." He's gone before she's even able to finish the sentence. 

* * *

As soon as Robin and Marinette made their exit, Nightwing's comms crackled to life, "Nightwing, what's your status?"

"The culprits are taken care of, Robin's taking the girl home, and I'm waiting for GCPD to get here," he grinned, "Also, this tiny girl decked Robin and he was totally giving her heart eyes."

Robin responded almost instantly, "He's lying. Also, how could I be giving someone 'heart eyes' through this mask if no one can see my eyes."

"Robin, are you still with the girl?" Batman interrupts. 

"Negative. I just dropped her off."

"Woah, woah, woah," Red Hood jumps in, "Are we just going to ignore what Nightwing said? Does the kid finally have a crush?"

"No."

* * *

While Robin remained in Marinette's thoughts, she didn't see him for another two weeks, and when they met, she wasn't Marinette -- she was Ladybug.

She was sitting alone on a rooftop, her eye's closed and breathing rhythmically, meditating, when she heard a voice from behind her, "Who are you?"

She didn't open her eyes to respond, instead choosing to continue facing towards the busy street, "I was wondering how long it would take until one of you stopped to talk to me. It's nice to finally meet you, Robin."

"You didn't answer my question."

Ladybug let out a long sigh before standing up to finally face him, "I'm Ladybug." She held out her hand but he didn't move to take it. 

"Why are you here?"

"To help."

There was a thump to her right as Batman and Nightwing join them on the rooftop, "Help? How."

Ladybug looked away from the group and out at the skyline before her, "This city's been suffering a long time. I'm here to fix it."

"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" Batman asks. 

She turns back around and shrugged, "With love. Dedication. We need to begin working on preventative measures instead of always being forced to react. The people of Gotham need help, and I'm here to give it to them. Whether that's as Ladybug or as my civilian self."

Robin steps forwards once more, "Why? You have no attachment to this city. Why do you want to help?"

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, "Why wouldn't I?"

* * *

It took some convincing (a lot of convincing) and weeks for her to finally gain enough of their trust, but Ladybug was finally put on the Bat's patrol rotation. She started by patrolling with Robin and Nightwing (and occasionally Red Hood and Red Robin would join them). Eventually, they trusted her enough to leave her alone with Robin. 

It was during patrol one evening when she finally confronted him, "You don't trust me."

Robin paused and turned to look at her, "No. I don't."

"Well, let's fix that."

He raised an eyebrow, "And how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

Ladybug sat down on the rooftop ledge and patted the concrete next to her, "20 questions. We take turns asking each other non-identity revealing questions and get to know each other better."

Robin sighed, "Fine. But only because it's a slow night." He sat down next to her, his cape draped over the edge of the roof. 

"You can ask first. What do you want to know?"

Robin narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, "How old are you?"

"18. You?"

"Also 18. Why did you really come to Gotham? What are you planning?"

Ladybug chuckles, "That's more than one question, silly. And it's like I told you before. I'm here to help. Besides, I needed a new start after Hawkmoth's defeat. I couldn't stay in Paris. There were too many bad memories. Gotham seemed as good a place as any," she paused to think for a moment, "What's your favorite color?"

"Green. Why can't we find anything about the attacks on Paris you mentioned? Everything regarding Hawkmoth is blocked. Which is impressive considered how great our tech is."

"Hawkmoth was a magical villain. He gained his power through the use of a miraculous - a magical broach that allowed him to send out butterflies that could possess anyone within the city limits who was feeling a negative emotion. He would stay hidden while he forced innocent civilians to do his dirty work. The miraculi are ancient, and the magic they possess must have interfered with your technology. That's why the Justice League never got involved in Paris and no one really knows about Hawkmoth in the first place. The miraculi wanted to prevent outside intervention, and it appears that it still is," Ladybug took a deep breath before asking her next question, "How long have you been Robin?"

"Around 8 years."

"Don't you normally age out of being Robin? And get a new outfit and stuff? No offense but your costume's ass. You look like a walking traffic light."

"Tt. I believe it was my turn to ask a question. And the outfit's traditional. It would be rude not to honor my predecessors by wearing the traditional Robin colors."

Ladybug laughed, "I'm all about honoring predecessors but I feel like you could have done that and still not looked like a fashion disaster."

"I didn't come up with the design anyway. I just wear what they give me."

They fell into a comfortable silence for a few moments before Ladybug spoke up, "Well, go on. It's your turn to ask me a question."

"What happened to your partner? The rest of your team? You've mentioned them in passing but I've never heard you speak of them outside of that."

Ladybug looked off into the distance, surveying the city, "Most of them are still in Paris, retired. Chat Noir, my partner, is somewhere in Europe. Helping out a city in need like I am with Gotham. We're still in contact but I haven't seen him in person in a long time. I miss him."

"Were you together?"

"No," she shakes her head, "I love him but not like that. Also, that was two questions. It's only fair I get to ask two in return."

"Tt. Fine. Ask away."

"If you could have any superpower, what would it be?"

"Flight, probably. Grappling around the city comes close, but nothing can compare to the few times my friend, Superboy, has flown me around," he turned his head to look towards her, a serious expression on his face, "Don't tell him I said that."

Ladybug laughed, "I don't even know him how would I tell him?"

"He drops by at random times. I'm sure you'll meet him at some point. You remind of him, actually."

"Oh? How's that?"

He has a slight smirk on his face, "You're both annoying."

Ladybug swats his shoulder indignantly, "Hey!"

"Calm down, I'm only joking. What's your next question?"

Ladybug's expression falls to a serious one, "What's your biggest regret?"

He took a while to respond, "When I first met my brothers, the other vigilantes, I hated them. I moved in with my father when I was 10. Before then I lived with my mother. She ... wasn't the best influence. Or a good person in general. And I didn't really understand that until I met my father. I regret the way I treated them back then. They didn't deserve that," he turned to look at her, "Not that they'll ever know that." Robin wasn't too sure why he was opening up to her. Something about her presence soothed him. Like all the rage and self-hatred that he shoved deep down was settling, disappearing almost. 

Ladybug held up her hands in surrender, a grin on her face, "Of course, of course. They won't hear it from me."

"What about you? What's your biggest regret?"

She sighed and leaned back, looking up at the stars, "I put too much faith in my mentor. Not that you can really call him that. He kinda just shoved the Hawkmoth problem on me and my partner and dipped. I didn't even meet him until two months in. We were young, Chat Noir and I, and he just expected us to know what to do. About a year or so after I became Ladybug, he got amnesia, Alzheimer's, or something. Then it was just me and Chat. We didn't know what to do. We were barely heroes and whatever sense of mentorship we had before was gone. We didn't even know each other's civilian identities. Our mentor had forbidden it and, as much as we disagreed, we thought it was for the best. We were unsure of just how much Hawkmoth learned when akumatizing his victims. If he could read their mind or not. And we didn't want to risk it if one of us were to get akumatized. After our mentor's amnesia, we still didn't reveal ourselves, which just caused more problems. And we risked Paris by doing so. Chat suggested an identity reveal and I would always deny him. I was afraid and holding on to our mentor's 'lessons.' It took a long time for me to realize that he didn't know everything and he was wrong most of the time. I regret not following my instincts and revealing myself. I should have. But I was a coward, and the people of Paris paid the price for it."

Robin leaned back to join her in looking at the stars, "It's hard. Suddenly having responsibility thrust onto you. You don't always make the right choices, and that's okay. As long as you learn from your mistakes."

Ladybug moved her head to look at him, "You're speaking from experience?"

He sighed, "When I first became Robin, I was ... rough around the edges. Mostly due to my upbringing and the 'lessons' my mother would teach me. I didn't believe the criminals of Gotham deserved a second chance. And I treated them as such. That was a mistake. It took far too long for my father to be able to get that through my head." Ladybug didn't know how to respond to that, instead opting to place a hand on his shoulder and squeeze for a brief moment before dropping her hand. 

"I believe it's my turn to ask a question."

She nodded, "It is."

"How long have you been Ladybug?"

"Since I was 11. So 7 years."

Robin furrowed his brows, "That's young. Especially for someone who had a no-show mentor half the time."

"Yes."

"And your partner? How old was he?"

"Around the same age. We were young. And we didn't really know what we were doing. I think our mentor thought that starting young was the best option. We were less likely to be corrupted by the world, or something. I asked him once but his response didn't make much sense. I get angry, sometimes, when I think about the responsibility he put on Chat and I's shoulders, but I can't do anything about it. He died a few years ago. There's no one left to be mad at."

"Tt. Sounds like unresolved trauma to me."

Ladybug snorted, "Like you're one to talk. You and the rest of the Bat-squad are the most emotionally constipated group of people I know. And I'm from a city where everyone repressed their emotions for over half a decade. I know what I'm talking about."

Robin shrugged, "I guess that's fair."

Suddenly their earpieces crackled -- Nightwing was requesting their assistance.

Ladybug stood up with a grunt and offered Robin her hand, "I guess there's no such thing as a slow night in Gotham, huh?"

Robin looked at her, calculating. He took her hand. 

"I guess so."

Something shifted that night between the two. Robin no longer treated her as an outsider and, though it would take a couple more weeks before he fully trusted her, he began to put his faith in Ladybug. They were a team now. He knew that she was keeping something from them, but didn't they all have secrets? He trusted her enough to know that she would never intentionally hurt him or his family, and for now, that's all that really mattered. Eventually, though he would deny it if his brothers ever asked, he could see them becoming friends. Not that he'd ever tell Ladybug that. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading. Just wanted to let y'all know that I'm going to be hosting a Maribat Angst and Fluff Fic Exchange in April and you can see more info if you want to sign up/see the stories on my tumblr @thedragonbug :)
> 
> The next chapter should include some Damian/Marinette moments and explore more why Marinette came to Gotham in the first place. Also, Adrien might move to Gotham in the next chapter or two. No, this won't be a love triangle situation don't worry. 
> 
> Remember to drink some water today! 
> 
> \- xoxo dragonbug


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